Light Years Away
by Elizabeth Perry
Summary: CallieMark Kinda AU. The timeline is set in the future after Addison is slated to leave Seattle and Callie finds out the truth about her husband’s infidelity. Three parts and is completed.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Light Years Away (taken from the song by Mozella) Originally was supposed to be a one-shot song fic but has exploded into a three part story. Yea no more song fics okay?  
**Pairing:** Callie/Mark  
**Rating:** R to be safe even though it isn't really R to middle or possibly end of the story  
**Summary:** Kinda AU. The timeline is set in the future after Addison is slated to leave Seattle and Callie finds out the truth about her husband's infidelity.  
**Disclaimers & A/N:** First of all, I don't own them if I did there would be the opposite of what it is on television. Second, Mark is a manwhore on television and while that works fine for some, I need to know why so I created a persona for him that kinda explains his actions and his behavior. It's not perfect and it doesn't excuse everything he's done but it makes it easier for me because otherwise I couldn't have him with my Callie who's been through enough anyway.

Also, this is my contribution to the requests (Juliana and others) that I have received requesting a Callie/Mark solo fic. I wasn't really sure if I could pull it off seeing as how I'm better at Addison/Derek but I think I did okay and hope you guys enjoy, thoughts please!

* * *

Callie had walked into Jake's bar hoping for a little peace and quiet to ponder over where she was going to go from this point on, in regards to her life and to her marriage. Realizing, that she had been married for less than two weeks and already infidelity was a problem had been a terrible blow to her ego and her heart. Normally, she would turn to her girlfriends, either Addison or Miranda but both were caught up in their own personal drama and she didn't want to impose on them when the newness of the relationship still existed. 

She pulled a seat out and signaled to the bartender, "Double Scotch on the rocks."

"Dr. Torres, heavy drinker so soon into your marriage?"

Callie ignored the taunt that came from her on the other side of the bar as she graced the bartender with a thankful smile as he placed her drink in front of her. She picked up the shot glass and stared into the amber, color liquid as she tried to drown the images that were permanently embedded in her brain, that of her husband and his so called friend having sex.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she gripped the glass tightly in her hand so much so that she could feel the strain in her fingers as she opened her mouth and gulped down the liquid and opening her eyes as the burning, liquid slid down her throat and she realized that this pain wouldn't go away not even with the numbness of alcohol.

"Oh, did I offend you because I didn't call you by your married name, Dr. O'Malley?"

Callie squinted her eyes at the loud person sitting beside her and said, "What will it take to shut you up so I can drink myself into oblivion in peace?"

Mark flashed a grin as he motioned the bartender back over and said, "Refill, she's paying."

The bartender flashed Callie a glance trying to gauge, if she was really accepting that she would pay for her annoying guest drinks. Callie shrugged as she pulled her Platinum Gold Card and threw across the counter and said, "Just put it on there, there's no limit."

Mark raised an eyebrow at her easy acceptance of picking up his tab as his refill on the drink came in front of him and he sipped quietly while studying the face of the woman he had been at one time been intimate with before she turned into Addison's friend. When he had first slept with Callie Torres, he thought a one-night stand with her would satisfy his appetite for the pretty Latina, but he found himself thinking of her at different times during the day. And not without certain consequences, he almost had to cancel a surgery after memories of her rolling around in his bed stopped him from effectively finishing a surgery.

Mark sighed as he stared at her profile even as she did her best to ignore his presence, "You know, if you want I could enhance your breasts. I mean you have a pretty healthy chest to begin with but there's always room for improvement."

Mark hoped he had offered up a joke that would be good enough to light the spark in her eyes but when her eyes welled with tears he instantly cursed his stupid mouth, "I'm sorry Callie, I didn't mean to make you cry."

Callie cursed her weakness as she looked at Mark and said, "I had gone through all this week without shedding a single tear, I walked through the hospital with my head held high in the air even when I passed the cheating face of my husband and his 'friend'. But, why is it that you who asked an insane question that normally would cause me to laugh or slap you has the power to drive me to tears?"

Callie put down the shot glass as she started to rise from the stool and leave the bar and return to the quiet of her hotel room where she could drink in peace and not be forced to face her own fear that she had been to blame for her husband turning to Izzie Stevens.

Mark cursed under his breath as he put a staying hand on Callie's wrist. She stared at him with fire in her eyes and he looked up and felt the apology fall freely from his lips, "I'm sorry, don't go yet. I'll keep my mouth shut I promise."

Callie glared at him for a second, not sure if she was ready to believe in his words or not. She sat on the edge of the stool and grumpily reached for her shot glass as she finished off her drink and ordered another.

As the minutes turned into hours, she noticed that Mark wasn't his regular McSteamy self and he looked troubled about something. She didn't want to ask because that would invite talking and that's wasn't what she was in the mood for, but curiosity got the best of her as she inquired, "So what's wrong with you?"

Mark was startled from his thoughts at the sound of her voice. He had stolen glances at her for the past two hours but as they sat in companionable silence drinking their sorrows away, he had to admit it was the best time he had in along time. A time when sex wasn't involved but the companionship was enough. He sighed as he looked down and said, "Addison is leaving Seattle. She doesn't think I'm marriage material or father material or that matter and she doesn't even want to try a serious relationship with me."

Callie looked into his eyes and he started to flinch as she read his inner thoughts. It was the thing that had always bothered him about her, she had the ability to look into his eyes and wade through all of the BS that he put up as a front and see what he was hiding, "Do you think you would have been a good husband and father to Addison?"

Mark looked up at her question and knew that with her, the lies couldn't fall from his lips not when she had the ability to see inside of him, "No. No, I wouldn't have. I'm infatuated with Addison and I want her but I don't think I would've been a good father and husband for her. She needs someone like Derek and I can't be him no matter how hard I try."

Mark threw his glass down on the bar as the train of his thoughts started to depress him as he looked down at her and said, "Do you want to go back to my hotel room?"

Callie smirked as she looked up at him, "So when in doubt, sex it out? How do you do that Mark? Make everything in your life about sex? I mean granted, you are definitely the walking definition of sex on a stick but you have to have more to you than superficial, I can't believe you went through all of those years of medical school and not have been touched by anything. You can't be that cold."

Mark flinched back from her real assessment of his personality as he started to scowl and said, "I didn't ask to be psychoanalyzed, I simply inquired if you would like to go back to my hotel room. A simple no would've sufficed."

Callie turned back around as she paid her tab and reached for her purse as she turned to Mark and said, "Okay, let's go."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
As the light flickered on in Mark's hotel room he waited for Callie to enter his room. He didn't know why he had brought her back here or even what he hoped to accomplish by the idea of her presence but for some reason it comforted him.

Callie threw her purse down as she sat on the edge of the sofa and put her head in her hands. Mark sat down next to her and said, "What is your excuse?"

Callie pulled her hands away from her face as she met his inquiring eyes with her own wary ones, "Why do you want to know? Are you itching to rub it in?"

Mark shrugged as he stood up and walked over to the wet bar and poured himself another drink and said, "Fine, don't tell me."

Callie scowled as she said, "Fix me another drink and I'll tell you."

Mark obliged her request as he sat down with his own in hand and waited for her explanation and the reason for her tears and dejected look, she sipped before saying, "My husband slept with Izzie, he apologized and he wants me back but I told him to go find Izzie because I wasn't hearing it. I signed the annulment papers that my father graciously arrived here with and told him to sign them as well because we were over."

Mark sighed as he listened to her pain and said, "Then O'Malley is not only an idiot, he's also a whore? Wow, he won points in my book."

Callie leaned back as she sipped the drink, "Why did you cheat on Addison? What caused you to believe that you would be happier without her and that risking it for the adventures of sex with a nurse was more important than the love you claimed to have for her?"

Mark stood up as he walked over to the bar and refilled his drink, "You know I asked myself that question a thousand times. Addison is gorgeous, she's smart, and she cares. She's the living embodiment of what every man hopes to have at one time but when she was with me all I did was screw it up and I don't even know why. Well, maybe I do know but I don't want to admit what it would mean, it would mean that I had never really wanted her."

Callie looked at him in confusion and said, "But then why Mark? Why did you give up your practice and move to Seattle if you knew that you didn't really want her or you couldn't be faithful to the image of you that she needed? Why did you make her priority in your life if you had no intention of being faithful?"

Mark scowled and said, "I am what I am Callie, I can't change who I am. I have tried to make myself over but it doesn't work, Addison wants a Derek and I'm not Derek damn it and I never will be."

Callie flinched at the anger in his tone as he sent his glass flying against the wall as it shattered in pieces with the remnants of his liquor coloring the walls of the beige hotel wall. Callie stalked over to him with anger in her eye and said, "Mark, I'm not Addison I don't fall for that copout crap. Give me the truth; I want to know because as much as Addison was my friend I don't think she ever really saw you and truthfully I don't know if she wanted to, she was always too hung up on her ex-husband. So I want to know why you use this persona of a manwhore who doesn't care to float through life seemingly unscathed."

Mark sneered at her as she tried to call him on his crap and he did what he always did when confronted with his own shortcomings, he lashed right back, "Why? Are you looking for a way to justify O'Malley's infidelity? Psychoanalyze the man-whore so you can understand your husband and possibly forgive him? Give me a break."

Callie reached up to slap him but stopped herself when she was inches from his face and said, "That's what you want isn't it? You want me to get mad at you and I'll stalk out of here and you will have safely deflected all attention off of my question. Nice try Sloan, tell me the truth why do you do it? What's in it for you?"

Mark walked to the hotel room door and flung it open and said, "If I wanted to discuss my problems, I would've called a therapist. I thought you wanted…."

Callie stood up as she cut him off, "What Mark what? You thought I was like every other woman that you sleep with that just walks away from you in the morning? Is that what you want from me? A one night stand?"

Callie started reaching for the buttons of her shirt as Mark closed the door in frustration, he sighed as he ran his hands through his hair even as he walked over and stilled Callie's hand from unbuttoning her shirt even more and said, "I'm sorry Callie."

Callie nodded once, she knew what it had cost him to admit, that he was close to the breaking point and she kept pushing because she didn't feel like dwelling on her own thoughts tonight. They were too depressing and she couldn't allow herself to wallow in any more self pity, "What is it Mark? Why do you hide who you are? I want to know the man that is behind those handsome looks, I want to know the man that has a heart."

Callie hesitantly placed her hand over where his heart lie as she looked up into his eyes and was shocked with the intensity that they were staring back at her, she started to pull her hand away when Mark cupped her hand where it was and held it there as he breathed deeply.

Callie didn't know whether to be aroused or afraid as she looked at the handsome man in front of her who was trying to break down his shields for her. She started to pull back, she was still married to George and even though she had signed the papers she knew that George wasn't going to give her up without a fight. And Mark, Mark was someone who would lead her down another path of pain and disappointment, something she wasn't sure if she could face. She looked into his eyes again as she struggled to remove his hand from hers and back away and break all contact.

Mark let his hand drop as he slumped into the sofa and looked up at her with a sad smile, "My mother was beautiful, you know."

Callie was thrown off by the sudden change in the atmosphere, moments before the atmosphere had been charged with sexual energy which had now dropped to a low hum as she realized that Mark was trying to let her in. She sat on the edge of the sofa near him but far enough away to make a hasty retreat should the moment arise, "Beautiful? What was her name?"

Mark looked up with a sigh and said, "Margaret, Margaret Sloan. She was everything that a boy could want in a mother, she loved me. She tried to raise me to be the polar opposite of my father who she despised and adored at the same time, and the sad part is that in the end I ended up disappointing her when I turned more into my father than she ever knew."

Callie looked at him at the haunting tone in his voice as he spoke about his childhood, she was curious but didn't want to press too much for fear that she might cause him to back away completely, "She was beautiful?"

Mark looked up and the haunted gaze that was in his eyes made her flinch back, "She was everything to me for the first 10 years of my life Callie. She did everything in her power to make my father love her the way she loved him. My father was a serial adulterer, so he was never faithful to my mother. I guess the adultery wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't cruel with it, he made her believe that the reason he wasn't faithful had to do with the fact that she wasn't pretty enough."

Callie struggled to compose her features to not let Mark know how hearing his childhood had affected her, "So your father was verbally abusive to your mother?"

Mark looked up as in shock, he had been so focused on his memories in the past that he hadn't realized that she was still there, "Yes, I guess that's what you would call it. Back then, there wasn't a fancy word for it but yea he was verbally abusive. My mom became obsessed with her looks, and back then it was when plastic surgery was just getting popular and she had money so she focused her life on making herself better in my father's eyes. She would get liposuction and it would keep my father faithful for six months, she would get her breasts done and it would keep him faithful for three months. Each affair brought on a new surgery, I begged her to stop, I told her she was beautiful in my eyes and that she didn't need all of those things done for me to love her, I loved her just the way she was. She didn't know how to believe in my words so she kept getting more and more surgeries."

Callie sighed as she placed a hand over his and said, "That must've been devastating for a young boy to see his mother spiral out of control and be helpless to do anything but watch."

Mark flinched as she put words to the emotions he had been suppressing his whole life, "I just wanted to love her but she told me that love was only as superficial as the person who was loving you. She told me that if you wanted to be loved, you had to make the person you loved see you how they wanted to love you. She drilled into me that love could never be beyond skin deep and that it had everything to do with looks."

Callie leaned forward and embraced him slowly wary of his reaction but sighed in relief when his arms came to circle around her waist as she laid her head gently on her shoulder giving him comfort and taking comfort from him as he held her in his arms, "I'm sorry you had to live through that Mark, but you can't let what your parents did to you shape who you are right now. You have to grow out of this stage because if you don't you will end up alone."

Callie pulled back as she spoke until she was at his eye level and their mouths were just a whisper away from each other. Mark groaned as he looked at the compassion in her eyes and pulled her into his mouth and kissed with all of the pent-up longing in his heart. Callie moaned from beneath him and that spurned him to pull her into his arms until she was straddling him on the sofa chair. She leaned back and rested her body on his thighs as she traced the lines on his face with her finger, before stopping at his lips. She placed her finger over his lips as if debating on whether she should take the next step.

Mark closed his eyes as he leaned back, "I've never told that to anyone."

Callie looked at him in disbelief and said, "Not even Derek or Addison? I don't know if I believe that."

Mark shook his head and said, "My mother was dead by the time that I met Derek. I always let him believe that my mother had cancer and died at an early age, I knew it was wrong and cruel to allow him to believe that lie but I was too ashamed to tell him the truth. That my mother had loved her beauty and what it did to my father more than me."

Callie started stroking his face again as she took his hand and held it gently in hers as she asked, "What happened to your mother?"

Mark leaned back against the chair and said, "She committed suicide. She had gone in for another surgery when she found out that my father was going on a two-week vacation with his latest conquest, she was so distraught that she took her own life. I never got to tell her that she didn't need to go through all of that because I would always love her no matter how she looked. After that, my heart became bitter at the thought of love, the thought of fidelity and I tried to shun any notions about that and my father was all for it. After all, why wouldn't Joseph Sloan's son be a manwhore like him?"

Callie leaned forward as she embraced him in her arms again and said, "Mark, you don't have to live like this. You can get better at this, it's not who you have to be, you can change if you want to."

Mark looked at her and said, "You know, I never wanted to change before. I'm still not sure if I want too but there's something in your eyes that tells me that if I do change, it will only be for the better."

Callie pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth as she stood up and held out her hand and said, "First lesson, we are going to bed."

Mark raised an eyebrow at this and said, "Are you saying that all I have to do is tell you my life story and then we fall into bed?"

Callie rolled her eyes as she tugged on his hand gently pulling him into the room as she motioned to the bed, "First lesson, we are going to get into a bed but we are going to sleep. I'm going to hold you tonight and you are going to hold me and that's all Mark. We are going to get better together."

Mark nodded as he looked at the bed and said, "I never had this with anyone, not even Addison who's the only one I can count as a true relationship."

Callie smiled softly as she laid on the bed and pulled him down gently next to her and said, "Then there's a first time for everything."

Mark sighed as Callie laid her head on his chest as her arms encircled his waist and he placed his arms around her and smiled when his eyes slid shut. He knew that this was just one night but for one night he felt whole, one night where he didn't feel like the whore he was.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
Next Morning

As the light filtered into his hotel room, Mark's eyes flew wide open and he instantly regretted that motion as the drinking of last night started to play havoc on his brain. He closed his eyes quickly but then opened them moments later when he noticed that something was different, he had a woman draped across his chest. It wasn't just any woman, it was Callie O'Malley, no, Callie Torres. The woman he had opened his heart and soul to for the first time since childhood was now in his bed and he was just holding her. He was content with something that wasn't sexual and it scared him. He wasn't used to knowing this kind of feeling. He went to shake her awake but stopped as he started to stroke the black, curly locks away from her face as he looked down at the woman whose head was still lying on his chest.

He looked at the track of dried tears on her face and cursed himself for not realizing that she needed comfort as well and then he cursed George O'Malley for ever thinking he had the right to cheat on a wonderful woman like this. He knew that if someone like Callie was in his life, he stopped at the thought. He couldn't and wouldn't allow himself to feel anything for the woman lying on top of him because she belonged to another even if she was in the process of a divorce she belonged to another.

He would have to just be content to watch her from afar, he was jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of her groaning, he looked down as she raised her head slightly and opened her bloodshot eyes and stared at him for a second, as she recognized her surroundings then smiled brightly and closed her eyes as her head fell back onto his chest.

He felt the pounding of his heart in his ears and knew that her simple smile in the morning had made his day if not his week and he knew that he was getting in too deep and he wanted out before his heart became involved and that was something he couldn't allow.

Callie groaned again as her eyes met the light in his room as she reached for his pillow to place over her head as she spoke, "Where's the coffee Sloan?"

Mark felt momentarily uncertain at the realization that she was staring at him openly with expectation in her eyes, "I'll call room service."

Callie nodded as she buried her face back into the pillow and muffled her voice but not before saying, "Order me some breakfast, if I don't eat something I'm going to be sick."

Mark nodded as he slipped out of the bed and reached for the phone and started to order a breakfast fit for two.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Later that Morning

Callie closed her eyes as she closed the door to her patient's room and walked out into the hallway, "Callie!"

Callie stopped in the hallway and flinched at the sight of her ex-husband and then shook her head. He had made the choice to be unfaithful, she didn't have any reason to feel anything other than loathing at the very sight of him, "What do you want George?"

George reached out to touch her face when she flinched back and said, "Don't George, just don't."

George let his hand fall away as he looked into the eyes of the woman he had pledged himself to and didn't know how to even speak the words that would allow forgiveness to soften her heart even just a little towards him, "Callie, what I did was inexcusable and you have every right to be angry at me but please don't throw away what we have, what we could still have for a stupid mistake I made while I was too drink to do anything. I was too upset about finding out you lied to me about the money and I got plastered and I fell into bed with Izzie."

Callie crossed her arms in front of her and said, "George, alcohol doesn't give you a blanket reason to be unfaithful. You slept with another woman, a woman your _wife_, had just told you had feelings for you. I told you that Izize had feelings for you George and what do you do? Talk about it with your wife or Izzie, no you go sleep with her. George, this is getting us nowhere, just sign the annulment papers and you can go be with Izzie, it's who you want in the first place."

Callie started walking away when George touched her shoulder and said, "Callie, it's not like that. I don't love Izzie, I love you."

Callie turned around and decided to test his resolve to work on their 'marriage', by asking, "If I told you that I wanted us to leave Seattle and we would move to another state where it's just the two of us, would you do it? Could you really walk away from Meredith, Izzie, Christina and even Alex and start again away from them?"

George faltered before he spoke and Callie had her answer, she shook her head and started walking off, "Yes Callie I would."

Callie turned around as felt the tears welling in her eyes, "You waited George. You had to think about it, you had to wonder for a moment if you would still be George O'Malley even if you were far away from these people who are the reason for our separation in the first place. You don't get it do you? I can't be married to a man who has to wonder if being with me is the right decision, just sign the papers and make it easier on everyone."

Callie walked off even as she heard George calling after her but she couldn't focus on his voice, only the ache that had suddenly become central in her heart.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mark was currently absorbed in his charts and eating a solitary lunch .Ever since Addison had told him that she was leaving Seattle, he had realized that he didn't have any ties to this town with the exception of Derek. Derek, his one-time best friend who believed him to be nothing more than an arrogant jerk, but had no idea that inside he was torn apart that he had ruined the only healthy male relationship that he had in his life.

He shook his head at the direction of his thoughts as he refocused on the charts in front of him; he had become so engrossed in them that he didn't notice that a shadow had fallen over the table. He looked up at the shadow and felt a smile crease his lips at the sight of Callie Torres tapping her foot impatiently as she awaited him to acknowledge his existence.

"Please sit down, Dr. Torres."

Callie smiled as she pulled out her chair and said, "With Addison leaving, I have to find a new lunch buddy and each time that I try to coordinate lunch with Bailey she always has to run off to clean up some intern's mess."

Mark smiled as she plopped down in the seat across from him while staring at the sandwich in front of her without speaking. He peered over his charts at her face and put down what he was working on and said, "So I guess that just leaves me I'm flattered. So do you want to tell me, why you are upset?"

Callie looked up at him and said, "George said that he only slept with Izzie because he was upset that he found out I was rich. I don't think I've ever heard that as an excuse to cheat on your wife have you?"

Mark opened his mouth to comment when Callie shook her head and said, "You know what? On second thought, you really aren't the right person I should be asking this too. You probably have more excuses than this whole hospital put together."

Mark shrugged and said, "I do have my share of excuses but I think in this case it comes to down if he's really repentant and does he want to be with you and why do I sound like Derek?"

Callie started to laugh as she heard him start to whine at the realization that he might actually be growing up, "Mark, welcome to the adult world. Where you will give and get valuable advice, how does it feel?"

Mark pouted and Callie started laughing again and said, "So one night with me and Mark Sloan is a reformed whore? Who would've thought I had so much power?"

Mark felt the pout fall from his lips as he looked into the eyes of the woman who had helped him realize that his current course was self-destructive and said, "Callie you have the power within you to make or break a man. I only wished that I had been smart enough to turn our one night stand into a relationship. Maybe I wouldn't be so miserable."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Torres, its quitting time." Callie looked up from her chart and nodded at Miranda who was leaning against the doorjamb with a smile on her face.

Miranda walked in the room and said, "O'Malley had to go home early, is there a problem?"

Callie shook her head and said, "Nothing a little annulment didn't cure."

Miranda opened her mouth in shock as she spoke, "Damn girl, you move fast. What did he do?"

Callie looked up at her friend and realized that she didn't want to have to admit to another person what her husband had done but knew that Miranda wouldn't judge and she had proven herself to be a good friend so she told her the truth, "George cheated on me with Izzie Stevens. He's begging for my forgiveness but I don't know if I can give it to him, I'm too hurt and too angry right now to even think straightly but what I do know is that our marriage was a mistake."

Miranda reached over and pulled Callie into a hug as she comforted her friend and spoke softly the imparting advice that only Miranda Bailey was known for, "Callie, you can't second guess yourself. You went into this marriage with your eyes open and even if O'Malley was stupid enough to not cherish your vows doesn't mean you don't have to. If you still love the little fool, make him grovel, make him beg but give him another chance but if you are truly over him and are under the realization that you can't live together than walk away but don't do it while you're angry."

Callie nodded as she pulled back and sighed with a heavy heart, "I did, I do love George Miranda but in this case love isn't enough. Even if I could, and that is a big if I don't know how I could ever trust him again Miranda. I'm not the type of woman who is liberal with her heart, when I gave it to George it was forever and it was with fidelity as a prerequisite and the fact that within the first couple of weeks of our marriage he slept with his friend doesn't sit well for the status of our marriage."

Miranda tugged on her hand as she sat her down and said, "Then what do you want Callie? Do you want to be single Callie again whose out there looking for the love of her life or do you want to practice forgiveness and work on your marriage?"

Callie rolled her eyes and said, "What I want is to not see images of my husband and his friend in bed running through my head, what I want is to erase the past couple of weeks and go back to when I knew that my husband was with me and I was with him. I'm single again Miranda and that's the way it has to be."

Miranda looked at Callie with a sympathetic glance and said, "And then there were two?"

Callie looked up at him in question and said, "Two? What are you talking about?"

Miranda smiled softly as she touched her hand softly and said, "There are only two of us, it's just you and me Addison isn't here and we have to stick together so whatever you need I'm here. I know that it's not easy to face the fact that the man you love isn't who you thought he was but you can do this because I'm going to tell you the same thing that I told Addison."

Callie leaned forward eager to grasp on the nugget of knowledge that Miranda was sure to impart and waited expectantly as Miranda said, "No man not George O'Malley, defines Callie Torres. Find out who you are with or without him but you are always defined by yourself."

Callie leaned back as she took the words to heart and smiled at her friend and said, "Miranda, I think I'm going to take your advice and on that note I think I'm going to go home now."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The knock on her hotel room at ten in the evening took her by shock. She walked to the door and flung it open as she stood waiting for an explanation as to her visitor.

"Sloan, what are you doing here?"

Mark tapped on his foot as he waited for the allowance to enter her apartment. He held up a box of pizza and a liter of soda, he graced her with what he hoped was a charming smile, "Come on Torres, you know you want too."

Callie opened the door completely and allowed him entry and closed the door behind him and said, "I don't even know why I'm doing this."

Mark walked in and dumped their dinner on the table as he slumped down on her sofa chair and said, "You know it actually helps that you live right in this hotel, you know if I want to scratch an itch…"

Callie groaned as she launched herself forward reaching for her slice and said, "Is this what I have to look forward too from our evening? Your sexual innuendos because I can tell you right now, that I'm not in the mood."

Mark rolled his eyes as he said, "Sorry bad habit, I just meant that it was convenient having you so close, nothing sexual in that statement I promise."

Callie scowled at him and spoke, "You mean except for the word sexual?"

Mark opened the box of pizza as he handed her a slice of sausage pizza and disappeared into the kitchen for cups, returning instantly with two plastic cups that he used to pour some name brand soda as he handed it to her he leaned back as he ate his slice of pizza and said, "This is nice, isn't it?"

Callie looked at him over her cup of soda and said, "What's wrong?"

Mark took a bite from his pizza and as he ate he tired to focus on anything but her words as he took a sip of soda and tried to look at anything but her. He had taken another bite of pizza and was effectively ignoring her when Callie gasped and looked at him in shock.

Callie leaned forward and said, "You are scared to be alone aren't you?"

Mark scowled as he stood up and started towards the door, "I knew this was a bad idea but no Sloan, you had to come over here. You should've stayed in your own room."

Callie jumped up as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Mark, I didn't say you had to go, I just wanted to know why you decided to grace me with your presence."

Mark leaned against the edge of her couch and said, "Before Addison left she asked me if I could go ninety days without having sex with anyone and if I made it she would seriously consider being in a serious relationship with me."

Callie groaned as she looked at him and said, "Let me guess you didn't make it two weeks?"

Mark crossed his arms, "I'm actually at day ninety-two and I'm going stir-crazy in my hotel room. I was moments away from going to Jake's and picking up the first girl who looked interested but you stopped me, I just heard your voice in my head and it was coaxing me to not follow in my father's footsteps and leave everything superficial."

Callie felt her mouth slid open in shock as she looked at the man in front of her who was staring at her seriously with a look of hesitation in his tone, "Mark, I really stopped you? I stopped you from going to a bar and picking up any woman who would've been panting to be with you?"

Mark rolled his eyes as he walked away from and headed back to the open pizza box and closed it down with a slam as he reached for the bottle of soda and started to leave when Callie's voice stopped him from behind, "I'm proud of you."

Mark felt the grip that he had on the box of pizza and the soda start to falter as he turned to her and asked again, "What did you say?"

Callie walked over to him and touched his hand softly and said,"I said I'm proud of you Mark. You could've taken the easy way out, the one you've used your whole life but you didn't do that, you chose to come over here and have me for company and right now being told by McSteamy that you rate higher than picking up a no-strings night of sex means everything."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his softly, Mark groaned as his arms came around her shoulders and he cradled her face in his hands as he pressed his lips against hers more insistently before pulling away and leaning his head against her forehead and speaking, "I have never been told by anyone since my mother that they were proud of me." He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead which she met by pulling his head down to meet her lips, after a breathless kiss, he spoke, "I have ninety-two days of sobriety and you are tempting me, you witch."

Callie smiled against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and said, "I guess that means you'll have to start all over tomorrow." She pressed her lips to his again and held her face in his hands as she deepened the kiss allowing her tongue to press insistently against his mouth and then gasped in shock when she was lifted off the floor and into his arms.

Callie wrapped her legs around his waist as Mark pressed kisses against her lips insistently and said, "Where the hell is your bedroom?" Callie groaned at the motion ad rubbed against him sensuously like a cat and kissed him again before whispering against his lips, "Why do we need a bed?"

Mark felt his eyes roll back in his head as her hand started reaching from beneath him as she reached for the zipper on his pants and stuck her hand in pant searching for the object of her desire. Mark grabbed her hand and said, "Callie, we need a bed, now!"

* * *

Continued in Part 2, how cool is that I finished a story and you don't have to wait for anything! 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Read Part 1 for summary, disclaimers etc.

* * *

**Part 2  
****Five Hours Later **

Callie shoved something under Mark's nose and he groaned and said, "Woman, I'm trying to sleep. My bones are worthless; you should be given an award or something."

Callie laughed from above him as she pressed the plate into his hand and said, "Come on, we have to keep up our strength if we are going to be able to work in the morning."

Mark cracked open one eye and said, "What is this?"

Callie smiled as Mark groaned as he rose up in bed and leaned against her headboard and smiled at the cold pizza that was on the plate, "Cold pizza? You couldn't wake me up until after you microwaved?"

Callie rolled her eyes and said, "Please cold pizza is American. You are American and therefore you will eat cold pizza with me at three in the morning."

Mark grimaced as he took a bite and said, "This is cold Callie, can't I just warm up this piece at least to knock the chill off?"

Callie grimaced, "You are such a big baby, here give it to me."

Callie disappeared into the kitchen and Mark took a moment to reminisce over making love with Callie for the first time that night. She had come apart in his arms while saying his name and looking up at him out of her midnight, passion-filled eyes and he felt himself caught up in the haze of her gaze as he gave over into the feelings she was igniting in him. He had to admit to himself that if he were honest it had never been like that with Addison, not even close. Maybe this feeling is what Addison had been fighting for all along with Derek, this feeling of completeness that you only get with the other person.

He didn't know how he could even begin to ask Callie for a relationship but he knew that he couldn't lie to himself or her, he wanted something with her. Something serious, something that would last and he was prepared to fight for it.

His only problem was that he didn't know how, he didn't know how to fight to have a woman in his life, a woman who was privy to all of his secrets and had the ability to read him and see through the façade he put on to the world.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Callie coming back into the room dressed only in his work shirt as she handed him the warmed paper plate and said, "Okay here ya go you big baby 'warm' pizza, god you suck."

Mark leaned forward with a smile as he pressed a kiss to her lips and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "But you like it when I suck."

Callie shivered from the timber in his voice and said, "I think we need to eat our pizza and then finish this conversation."

Mark smiled cockily as he looked at her as she tried to distractedly focus on the eating of the food in front of her and said, "Is there something wrong Torres?"

Callie ripped the paper plate out of his hand and threw it to the side as she straddled his legs and said, "Shut up Sloan." She pressed her lips to his mouth as the fire was reignited and they gave into their passion

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"I can't move."

"I can't move either."

"I'm hungry."  
"So am I, where's that pizza?"

"Torres enough with the cold pizza already."

"Well, then you come up with an idea Sloan."

"Let's go out."

"It's six at night, we've spent all day in bed do you think I feel like going out and putting on clothes?"

"If we stay here, we won't leave this bed so I'm thinking that yea we should leave the bed and I once again can't believe I just said that. Damn, am I channeling Derek or what?"

Mark leaned up as he heard the laugh that came out from under the pillow as he reached over and removed the pillow from her face and pressed a kiss into her hair and said, "Don't laugh at me, lets get dressed and go out on the town otherwise we are destined to spend the rest of our weekend locked up in your bedroom."

Callie threw an arm around his shoulders as she groaned upset at the idea of being moved and said, "Would that really be such a bad idea?"

Mark leaned down ready to kiss her into oblivion again when he pulled back and said, "No Torres, you aren't going to do this to me again. We should've been out of bed hours ago but we didn't leave which was your fault so now I'm getting my way and this time we are going out!"

Callie kicked her legs at him in frustration but not realizing her strength sent him sprawling off the bed. Callie shot up in horror as she covered her mouth in disgust at her own actions and said, "Oh my god Mark, I'm so sorry."

She peered at him over the edge of the bed and said, "Are you okay?"

Mark opened one eye at peered at her angrily and said, "We are so going out to eat for this."

Callie nodded ready to agree to whatever he had to say and said, "Okay, I'll go get ready."

Mark nodded as he sat up and leaned forward and pressed a hard kiss to her lips and said, "Good, I'm going to my room and I'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

Callie threw her pillow at him as he walked out of her bedroom naked save for the sheet covering his lower body and laughed as she said, "Forty-five minutes."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Italian Restaurant

"Stop it." Callie looked up from her wine at the glare she was receiving from across the table and opened her mouth innocently and asked, "Stop what?"

Mark growled as he stared her down, "You know what. Stop looking like that, all hot and sexy, you aren't making this easy on me."

Callie raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in her chair and looked at Mark Sloan who was for lack of a better word, fidgeting in his chair, "Making what easy on you? I was simply sipping from my glass of wine."

Mark reached over for her glass and emptied the contents down his throat and gently set the glass back empty in front of her, 'You drank the wine with your tongue, we haven't been here five minutes and I'm already looking for a restroom because I don't know if I can wait until we get back to the hotel."

Callie smiled as she heard the desire in his voice and admitted if at least to herself that she needed that bolster to her ego. It wasn't easy realizing that you weren't obviously enough for your husband but being told that you were enough for McSteamy, well that could make your week.

Callie peered down at her menu in what she hoped was an apologetic glance asked, "What looks good?"

Mark smirked at her from on top of his menu and said, "Besides you? I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me. No one has really ever given me a tour around Seattle since I arrived."

Callie grinned and said, "Well then, let that be my pleasure. Since tomorrow is our off day, we will spend the day touring Seattle. Just let me know what interests you and I'll make our itinerary."

Mark looked up and stopped as he reached for his own glass of wine hoping to cover the shaking that was starting in his hands; she actually wanted to spend time with him. Outside of the bedroom, she wanted to forge a relationship with a man that had never been in serious one in his life. He tried to act nonchalant as he answered, "I'm sure whatever you want to do will be fine with me."

Callie nodded and said, "I think I'll have the chicken parmesan with fettuccine alfredo, which should be light enough in case I have room for their dessert. I've heard the tiramisu here is excellent."

She laid down her menu as she waited for their waiter to appear her cell phone rang. She looked up with a scowl after checking the name on her caller ID and said, "Sorry I have to get this it could be important."

Mark nodded and watched as Callie disappeared down the hall, hoping that whoever the caller was on the other side of the phone wouldn't ruin the wonderful mood that had settled over them.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Yes Dad?"

"Mija, I'm just calling to let you know that my lawyer informed me that O'Malley signed the papers. The marriage has been annulled and the papers have been signed, you are once again a free woman. Next time you decide to get married, please let me know first so I can have the pre-nup agreement drawn up."

Callie felt the tears threatening to rise from her eyes as she reflected on the fact that she was now officially single. She knew it would happen but she had thought deep down that if George really loved and wanted her he would've fought harder, even though she herself knew that no amount of fighting could erase the pain he caused her, "Yes father, I'll be sure to do that. Goodbye."

She bit her lip as she held her cell phone against her mouth inhaling and exhaling short breaths hoping to regain some of the composure that his call had taken away. She was Callie Torres again. It shouldn't have really bothered her that she was once again who she never stopped being but for a moment she felt a sharp shaft of pain, the pain that came with knowing that she had failed at marriage. Whether the annulment papers marked their marriage as real or fake, she had been married. She had loved her husband with everything inside of her and she had wanted a life with him.

She walked into the bathroom as she stared at her face in the mirror and didn't know how she was going to go out and face Mark. She had been so happy the last couple of hours being with a man who made her forget her troubles and who made her realize that she was desirable and did deserve to be loved. If her heart wasn't so torn in two she could seriously fall in love with Mark Sloan. The one that still at times hid behind the façade of Manwhore but she didn't if she was strong enough to love and trust again after George.

She forced a smile on her face then chided herself for the pitiful glance that stared back at her as she said, "Buck up Torres, you knew this was coming. It's what you wanted after all." Her heart was crying inside even as her brain was fighting with her in the mirror. Yes, it had been what she wanted but it still didn't make it any easier, it didn't make the hurt less in her chest.

She was jerked out of her thoughts by the opening of the door and she stepped back to let the lady enter but when she spied her she stopped and said, "Are you Callie?"

Callie nodded and looked at her strangely, "Yes, I am. Why?"

The lady stepped inside the restroom door and closed the door behind her and said, "Because the gentleman who was sitting at your table was concerned about you. He said you have been in here for fifteen minutes."

Callie scowled as she thought of Mark's over-exaggerating but as she checked her watch knew that in this case he hadn't been over-exaggerating, she had actually been in the bathroom for close to twenty minutes.

She looked up and said, "Tell him I'll be right out."

The lady paused as if deciding whether she should say something else or not and then deciding for it said, "He seems like a really nice man and I think he really cares about you so whatever you are worried about, you might want to tell him it could help."

Callie had never been one who was free with her feelings or with the interruptions of others who wanted to off their own advice but she thought that in this case she might take the lady up on her offer, "Thank you, I think I might just do that."

Callie came back to the table just as Mark was paying the bill and picking up their food in to-go containers; he looked up at her with a gentle smile, "I got our food to go, you ready?"

Callie sat back at the table and said, "Mark, I'm sorry I didn't mean to ruin our evening. We can still eat here if you want."

Mark looked up at her and felt a shaft of pain at the dried tears that were still resident on her cheeks, "Callie, I'm not a monster, if you are feeling bad about whatever happened then we can go back to the hotel."

Callie smiled as she touched his hand softly and said, "When did you get to be so sweet?"

Mark grimaced and said, "Don't start assuming that just because I have a couple of nice gestures every now and then that I'm reformed. I'm trying and you're the biggest part of that so don't get your hopes up, so do you want to go or not?"

Callie nodded as she sighed and said, "I want to go back to the hotel and have you hold me in your arms. I want to fall asleep listening to the sound of your heart in my ear and then when I wake up I want to make love to you until neither one of us can stand."

Mark growled as he stood up and brought her to her feet and pressed a hard kiss to her lips as they walked out the door hand in hand.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Later that Night

Mark stroked her hair as she lay on his chest content to listen to the sound of his heart beating and said, "So do you finally want to tell me what happened?"

Callie lifted her head and smiled as she stared at him in the eye and said, "George signed the annulment papers and part of me was relieved but the other part of me was hurt that he was able to sign away what I thought was going to be the rest of my life."

Mark nodded as if he understood when in reality he didn't, if she wanted the annulment and wanted him out of her life and then got her wish why was it so hard to accept? She was looking at him and he realized she expected him to offer her some words of comfort but all he could do was pose a question, "Do you still love him?"

Callie sighed as she laid back down her head resting on his chest as she played with the fingers of his hands and said, "I don't know. I think that a part of me shut down in loving George after I found out he was unfaithful to me but another part still loves the memory of what I imagined that we were and what we would've been. I know it sounds confused but that's what my heart feels like."

Mark nodded as he lifted her face to his and said, "Do you still want him? Do you want him back and if you did get him back would you be happy?"

Callie lifted up as she maneuvered herself until she was lying against the headboard next to him, the thin hotel sheet covering her chest as they sat shoulder to shoulder, "I don't want George back. I had deluded myself into believing that we could make it, I thought his father's death had put everything in perspective for him and that he realized that the woman he loved needed to come before his friends. But it didn't and he allowed them to still be the center of his world, so even if I wanted to try again with him I know that he would never be able to leave them behind and I can't look into their eyes knowing that George and Izzie had been intimate."

Mark leaned over and pressed a kiss to her shoulder as he pulled her into arms and said, "I don't know how to help Callie. I'm new at this sensitive not a manwhore thing and I might say the wrong thing so whatever you need just tell me and I'll do it."

Callie leaned up as she pressed a kiss to his lips before straddling his waist as she let the sheet fall down, "You know for a sensitive manwhore, you're doing pretty well."

Mark groaned as she met his lips and held her waist tight against his chest and flipped her over and said, "Let's see if we can't change that pretty well to an excellent."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Next Morning

Callie walked into work exhausted, but happy. She and Mark had made love all weekend long and no matter what she did she could feel herself fallen more into like with the man. She didn't know if it would last, she didn't know if he would last but she didn't want to give up the feeling she had for anything in the world.

Callie had made it through the majority of her morning without any complications until she stopped for lunch and saw George at the table with all of his friends, including Izzie. As she walked past they all fixed her with a glare, as if blaming her for her ex-husband's infidelity and unhappiness.

She walked past with her head held high until she heard her name being called. She stopped but refused to look over her shoulder or respond to what she was sure was going to be a taunt. She turned around when George tapped her lightly on the shoulder and said, "Can we talk?"

Callie looked over his shoulder to see the reactions of his other friends and saw that all were looking at Izzie who was a little green in the face but for the most part all had sympathetic looks on their face. Callie nodded and started walking away hoping George would follow which he did and after they were a safe distance away from prying eyes she turned around and crossed her arms, shielding herself from the next words that came out of his mouth.

She wasn't prepared for them, "Callie, I'm sorry. I signed the papers and it's not because I don't love you but it's because I do. I recognize that I can't expect you to forgive me for something when I don't know how to forgive myself. I cheated on the one woman who was always there for me, always loved me and always supported me and I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness even though I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that me walking away and signing the papers had more to do with me realizing that some wounds you can't heal no matter how much you try to apologize or even Band-Aid them, some wounds are permanent and I know mine was so I couldn't ask you to take me back anymore, it wasn't fair to you."

Callie felt the tears rise in her eyes as she heard the sincerity in his voice and knew she couldn't' respond to him with anything but the truth, "George, I'm not saying it doesn't still hurt, I think a part of me will always be hurt by your actions, but I'm learning to forgive your actions and you. I care about you and I hope that you find happiness someday whether it's with Izzie or someone else."

George stepped forward intending to embrace her but settled for a friendly hand on the shoulder and said, "I always thought I could find that happiness with you but I know now that it's out of my league and as sad as it is, so are you."

Callie leaned forward and pulled him in her arms, "George, the money was never the problem between us. Please don't let yourself believe that I'm using it as a crutch to stay away from you, it was the sex with your friend that I already knew felt something for you that did it for me. It was the fact that I can't trust you anymore that broke me, please understand that."

She stepped back as she let him go and turned away but not before saying goodbye, she barely made it into her office before the tears started falling.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

She sat in her darkened office, with a box of tissues in her hand. She blew her nose and threw the tissue on the growing mound next to her as she rested her forehead on her knees and pondered over George's words. Had she pushed him away? Had his sleeping with Izzie been just an excuse for her to shut her heart off again?

She was working on another set of sobs when the light flickered in her office. She cursed to herself; she wasn't in the mood for any visitors. She lifted her head and stopped when she saw who was standing at the entrance of her doorway. She smiled softly as she handed the box of tissues over to her friend Miranda.

Miranda took the tissues and then closed the door behind her as she sat across from her and asked, "Why are you crying in the dark?"

Callie looked up and said, "Do you think I push people away? Do you think that I used the fact that Izzie slept with George as a reason to get out of my marriage to him because I was afraid he would look at me differently because he found out I was rich?"

Miranda snorted as she said, "Do you believe that you cut him off because he found you were rich or did you throw his sorry butt to the curb because he couldn't keep his stuff in his pants?"

Callie felt a laugh fall from her lips as she realized the absurdity of her own question, "I guess you're right. The question is why am I crying in my office when I know that I was right in getting an annulment?"

Miranda handed her a tissue and said, "Maybe it's because your annulment being signed has nothing to do with the reason that you're sad. Tell me about you and McSteamy."

Callie swiped at her eyes and said, "What about me and McSteamy? We met up at a bar one time had sex and then we stayed at opposite ends of the spectrum. A couple of days ago, we met up again when he was upset about Addison and I was upset about George and we just…."

Miranda looked at her in question, "We just what? What do you and McSteamy just do? Because, I've seen that fool walking around here with a smile on his face, nurses are trying to catch his eye and he's not looking, he is happy he has changed and I think you are to blame."

Callie leaned back and said, "Mark and I clicked. We got sloppy drunk and then went back to his hotel room and….," Callie was cut off from finishing her thought as Miranda interrupted and said, "Please, please don't tell me about sex child I don't need to hear this, I'm at work."

Callie shook her head, "That's just it Miranda, we didn't have sex. We talked, he told me about his childhood his parents and what turned him into a manwhore and I connected with him because for the first time since I met him he was being honest and he was really trying to change. We did have sex days later but he's trying to be there for me and I like it."

Miranda sighed as she stood up and walked over to Callie and set down next to her on the couch as she stared her friend in the eye and questioned, "Do you like his being there for you or do you like him? I just don't want to see you get hurt Callie, you just got over a marriage that you had invested yourself in and the first person that you encounter is McSteamy aka Manwhore who is not exactly known for fidelity."

Callie nodded and said, "I think that could be why I'm crying. Losing George didn't hit me as hard as I thought it would, but Mark being in my life, being there for me in everything is starting to scare me because I don't think I could walk away as easily if it happened with him. My feelings for him are more jumbled and scary than anything; I've ever felt for George."

Miranda pulled her friend in her arms and said, "Define your relationship with Sloan once and for all. Make sure you know what you want and that he knows what you expect, go in with your expectations low and it may just turn out to be for the best but if you put all of your hope and trust in him and he lets you down it will devastate and from what I hear, more so than George ever did. Talk to him Callie."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mark had wandered through the day on a cloud with the excitement of having Callie back in his arms when he returned to his hotel room later that night. His excitement had simmered ever since the gossip mill had hit his ears and told him that Callie and George had met up in the cafeteria. He had wanted with every fiber of his being to find Callie and ask what happened with her conversation with her ex-husband but he held back. He was new to this relationship thing and he wanted to be there for Callie but not in a pushy manner so he would wait, he did wait and when the day came and went with no news from her he started to worry. Maybe she had gone back to George; she was definitely within her right to give him another chance.

As he crossed the threshold of his hotel room, he slammed himself down into the chair and pondered what would happen if Callie did go back to George? Would he be forced to see her everyday at work knowing that she was no longer his to touch, to hug, to hold and to love? He knew that he had feelings for Callie but they were feelings he was afraid to put a name to for fear that they might not be reciprocated. It had him pacing around his hotel room wondering if he dared to ask Callie what had happened or if he dared to live in this forever limbo.

He finally made up his mind and decided he was going to confront his reality whether that ended up being with or without the woman who had stolen away his peace of mind in such a short period of time.

He had to make a game plan first and as he checked his watch and his wallet, he knew he needed to move fast.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Callie sat on her couch wrapped in her bathrobe as she flipped through the channels of the television before glancing over at her cell phone for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. She kept expecting a call from Mark and when it didn't come she wondered if he had found someone else to warm his bed that night.

She closed her eyes as a silent, lone tear rolled down her cheek. She had done the unthinkable, she had fallen in love with the Manwhore and she didn't know how she was going to go on if she lost him to another woman or another lover whatever he was going to be into. She had given herself to him in away that she knew that she had never done with George and she felt guilty. She had thought George was marriage material and Mark wasn't but George turned out to be the adulterer and Mark appeared to be the kind, caring, and compassionate lover that she had always claimed she wanted in a marriage mate. How did her heart and her life get so confused in such a short period of time?

She reached for the box of tissues that were sitting next to her as she wiped away the tears as they fell down effortlessly from her face and tried to focus on the news that was showing on the television and not the inner turmoil in her heart and in her head.

She had tried to become transfixed by the sight of the weather report with no luck. She flipped the television off as she sighed and placed the remote on top of the television and headed for her bed. She had extinguished all of the lights in the living room and was headed into her bedroom when she heard the knock on her door.

She checked her watch and was surprised to see it was just after midnight. She walked to the door and peered out the peephole and was shocked to see Mark standing outside her hotel room dressed in his jeans and shirt and holding a bouquet of red, long stem roses. She opened the door and leaned against the jamb as she spied the man in front of her who was balancing his nervousness by shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Mark looked past her and into her apartment and asked softly, "Is George here?"

Callie looked up at him in confusion and then realized that Seattle Grace's gossip mill must've gotten around to even plastic surgery, "No George isn't here. He hasn't been here and he won't be here but a question why are you?"

Callie knew that she must sound angry but she didn't want to focus on the realization that maybe in his belief that she had been with George that he had found another woman to fill the position. She stepped back and said, "Are you coming in?"

Mark flinched at her tone and said, "I'm not sure that it's safe, did I do something?"

Callie pulled him into the room by her arms and closed the door, "Who did you sleep with tonight?"

Mark opened his mouth in shock and said, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Callie tapped her foot and said, "Never mind, look why don't you just go?"

Mark nodded and said, "You know what, and maybe it's better if I do. Here are your flowers."

Callie reached for them as he dropped them in her arms and started off, she opened her mouth and spoke, and "I'm sorry Mark. I had no right to even ask you that question, look please stay. I'll fix you a drink and you can tell me why you knocked on my door at midnight."

Mark had his hand poised over the doorknob when he stopped at the sound of pleading in her voice, "Callie, why did you ask that?"

Callie walked up to him and removed his hand from the doorknob before placing a hand on his shoulder and turning him into her room and said, "Because I've had a really shitty day and people put doubts in my head and I didn't know how to deal with those doubts so I decided to lash out and whoever was in front of me and unfortunately you met that criteria."

Mark sat down on the couch and said, "You were supposed to be rubbing off on me and not the other way around."

Callie nodded as she sat down next to him on the couch with her arms wrapped around the bouquet of flowers and said, "Yea I know sad isn't it? Well, what's up, why are you here at this time of night?"

Mark leaned his arm back on the couch and said, "Do you want to tell me about what happened with George today? I'm assuming that's what upset you."

Callie looked at him and said, "Actually why I was upset had nothing to do with George, well only partly to do with George, it had more to do with you."

Mark flinched as she uttered the statement that dealt with him directly, "Me? What did I do?"

Callie put down the roses as she turned to him and touched his face softly before leaning up and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, "You showed me that superficial is not what you are made of and what was so funny is that I knew that George was anything but superficial and so I fell in love with him thinking he would keep my heart safe and he didn't. He barely had it a month before he broke it but when, I was with you I thought I could give my heart to you and it made me realize that sometimes if you look past the superficial you could find a really great man. I think I'm falling in serious like with you Mark and it scares me because I know that you have the ability to break me more so than George ever could."

Mark lifted her up and into his arms within seconds they were kissing each other breathlessly before Mark pulled back and said, "I spent all night in my hotel room wondering how I was going to let you go if you decided to take George back. I'm not good for you, hell I'm not even good for me but I'm still too damn selfish and I don't know how to let you go and I don't want to know. I want to be with you, I want to try to be the man that I see that you believe me to be. I want to be the man that gives you everything and I don't want to ever lose you."

Callie sighed against his lips and said, "So then I think we have ourselves a dilemma. It seems that we are living in separate hotel rooms in the same hotel doors away from the person we don't want to be without, what do you think we should do about it?"

Mark stood up with her cradled in his arms and walked towards the bed and said, "I think we need to look for an apartment pretty soon."

Callie laughed as his lips came down to meet hers and said, "I think that's the best idea you've had all evening."

* * *

End, press next for the Epilogue. Yea, that's done as well, I know how cool!


	3. Light Years Away Epilogue

**A/N: All info follows in Part 1.**

Also, for the purpose of this story Derek is a jerk, well I think Derek is a jerk anyway but  
that's another story. Well, that's actually 5 other stories, I've already written so I won't go  
there!

**

* * *

**

**Epilogue **

**6 Months Later **

Callie pulled the backpack tighter over her shoulder as she was thinking of curling up in bed with her boyfriend and enjoying a night of making love and eating. She checked her watch and hoped that Mark had beaten her home because otherwise she was liable to be upset that she was home alone.

She started out the door when she heard her name being called, "Torres."

Callie shook her head as she headed out, she was leaving. This was the last night that they were going to have together and alone before they left on their mutual vacation, a cruise that Mark had surprised her with on her birthday. She was leaving, "Torres, I know you hear me calling you woman."

Callie stopped in her tracks and turned around at the sound of her friend's voice calling her. She smiled as she saw Miranda sprinting to catch up with her, "Miranda, what's going on? I'm leaving; I'm going to meet my boyfriend at our apartment…."

Miranda shook her head as she grabbed her arm and started pulling her back inside the hospital, "You aren't leaving, you can't leave, because your boyfriend is still inside."

Callie sighed in disgust and said, "He's still inside? Well, I guess….wait why do I have to wait if Mark is still inside? I can wait for him at the apartment."

Miranda tugged her in the doors as they headed for the elevators as Miranda spoke, "Because Sloan and Shepherd are in the middle of a fight, well its more like Shepherd yelling at Sloan and Sloan not reacting."

Callie scowled at the thought of her friend Addison's ex-husband who was currently messing with the man she loved. Who knew that after Addison left, Derek's relationship with his slutty intern would fall apart as well as Addison being his stronghold who was no longer in his reach, he finally felt what his life like without her and now was making himself and everyone around the hospital miserable and he seemed to be particularly taken with her boyfriend of late.

Callie looked at Miranda as she walked inside with Callie ready to take her Derek Shepherd once and for all and said, "What's that ass of Shepherd done now?"

Miranda pressed the elevator for the surgery floor and said, "Sloan won't operate on a kid with a cleft lip and it's pissing Shepherd off, he doesn't understand why. Not to mention it's none of his business but ever since Richard announced he was staying on at Seattle Grace indefinitely he's been more unbearable than normal. I'm thinking about sending Addison a plane ticket so she can come here and set that jerk straight."

Callie laughed and said, "No one deserves to have to put up with Shepherd. Look, I'll deal with Shepherd and Sloan; you just hold my stuff and promise me that if you see bodies start flying you'll say that I was innocent."

Miranda nodded and said, "Go save your man and make sure he does that surgery. I don't know what's going on with him but he seriously seems terrified of doing that surgery."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
Mark was unsuccessfully trying to drown out the screams of his former best friend who was yelling at him to do a surgery that at this moment he was physically incapable of handling.

"Why the hell do you choose now to act like you aren't god? My god during our entire friendship and my marriage to Addison, you always looked for ways to best me in front of her, so why won't you take this chance to go save that little boy's life. What is your problem?"

Mark looked up at Derek and knew that even if he wanted to share the painful memory with his friend he was in no place emotionally to deal with him. He was still too caught up in his own personal pain at the realization that he had let the one woman who loved him unconditionally walk away from him.

The door flung open and Mark felt his heart start to pound in his chest, as the woman he loved entered the room. He loved Callie Torres with every breath of his heart but he was too coward to admit it for fear that she didn't feel the same for him yet. So he held his tongue and made love to her in away that he hoped show that he was in love with her and he was with her for the long run.

"Why the hell are you yelling at the man I love?"

Mark felt his heart rise to his throat at the words that fell so easily from her lips as he stared at her in disbelief, "What is your problem Shepherd? Is the fact that Grey is once again whoring around Seattle too much for you to handle or maybe it's the fact that Addison is finally moving on and you realize what you lost? Whatever it is it doesn't give you the right to yell at Mark for no reason."

Derek scowled as he turned to the woman who had dared to interrupt his tirade and said, "Stay out of this Torres, it's between me and Sloan. You have no place in this conversation."

Mark shook his head as he stood up and said, "Actually you can go now. I need to talk to Dr. Torres anyway."

Derek looked at Callie with a smirk, "So what he's going to screw you in the gallery?"

Callie gasped in shock as she leaned forward ready to slap the smirk off his face but Mark was quicker and within seconds Mark had Derek pinned against the wall as he growled into his face, "You can insult me as the day is long but the second, the instant that you open your mouth and spout something filthy about the woman that I love, is the day that you no longer walk this earth. Get out of here Derek, go get laid, go get drunk, go do something but leave me and Callie the hell alone."

Callie stepped back as she listened to the tone in Mark's voice that she knew meant business and Derek must've picked up on it as well because he stepped back and walked away slamming the door behind him.

Callie looked at the man who had just confessed his love for her while standing up for her in front of his ex-best friend shut down emotionally in front of her as he slumped forward in the chair.

Mark was in no position to answer any questions but he knew that they would be forthcoming from Callie and especially after she just heard him declare his love for her in front of his friend. He waited for the inevitable, why didn't you tell me line but when it didn't happen he glanced over at her and was shocked that she was just sitting there waiting, she was waiting on him.

Callie met his glance with a short smile as she took his hand into her own and squeezed it to her, not saying a word but hoping to offer comfort by her sheer presence.

The moments passed quietly with no sound from either one until Mark started speaking and it was with a haunting voice as he let the memory that was stopping him from doing the surgery fall from his lips effortlessly, "When I was fresh out of medical school I was a cocky son of a bitch. I believed that the only type of surgeries that I would ever perform were the ones were I was making some model's boobs bigger or some older lady who was worried that she was looking her looks younger by doing face lifts, I didn't realize that I would also have to deal with children. Young children, children who when I was in school were taunted because they were different, children like Samantha."

He stopped as his voice cracked as the memories came rushing through his head, "I had gotten through three plastic breast enhancement surgeries and two face lifts when the plastic surgeon on call asked me to handle this case. He was my hero; I wanted to be like him so much because he was distant but brilliant everything I embodied I needed to be to succeed. And I think that I've perfected his personality unfortunately but he told me to go in and handle this one case. Samantha Wells was this gorgeous four-year old with the exception of her cleft lip, which her parents brought her in to have fixed. They were wealthy and important and couldn't stand the fact that they had made a less than perfect child."

Callie realized where Mark was going with this conversation as she squeezed his hand tightly offering comfort from her presence but knowing that Mark still needed to get these memories off his chest she remained silent, "She was adorable and she looked at me like I hung the moon and I didn't understand why. I bonded with her, I started to care about her, I found myself not having lunch with my mentor to go to her room and play with her for an hour, and she became the center of my world until the day of her surgery. She told me, she told me that she was happy I was doing her surgery and I asked her why."

Callie laid her head on Mark's shoulder as the tears started falling from her cheeks as she heard the pain that was still resident in his voice even after all this time, she knew that something must've happened to the little girl that had Mark tied up emotionally, "She told me that because once she was pretty her parents would love her. I thought she was kidding but she said my Mommy and Daddy don't love me because I'm not perfect. I hugged her and told I her that I loved her and that she was perfect but I could tell from the look in her eyes that she didn't believe me. I walked out of her room with my whole body shaking; I knew I was in no condition to do the surgery because I was too seething with rage at her parents and at life for allowing a beautiful child like that to believe that she was anything other than perfect. My mentor realized that I was in no condition to operate so he sighed long-suffering and said he would do it."

Callie looked up from her position on his shoulder to press a kiss to his shoulder that was still in scrubs as she waited for him to complete the story, "She died on the table Callie. She died on the table and I never forgave myself because if I had been in there with her, I would've fought for her I would've made her live. I always believed that her parents were relieved that she died, it was like the mark that had been on their perfect family had been erased."

Callie wiped away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks as she listened to the emotion in his voice, "What does that have to do with your patient?"

Mark opened his eyes for the first time since telling her the story as he looked in her eyes and said, "His name is Matthew and he's gorgeous except for his cleft lip. He's seven and he's anxious to get it fixed so his parents will love him and the kids at school will stop making fun of him. After he said that, I just shut down and I haven't been able to do anything but sit here since."

Callie stood up as she put out her hand and waited for him to take it as she pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arm around his waist and said, "First things first, we are going to schedule the surgery for three hours from now, then I'm going to take you to your office and get you to relax and then we will discuss why you are the best at what you do."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Two Hours Later

Callie was stroking Mark's hair as he laid his head on her legs while she listened to him speak about anything and everything. In about forty-five minutes, they were going to come and tell him that it was time to operate on Matthew and she knew that he was trying to do everything but discuss what was lying ahead of him.

"When we go on the cruise, I'm thinking we should elope."

Callie murmured an accepting tone than stopped when she realized what she had just been asked. She dropped her hands as Mark sat up and looked at her and asked in confirmation, "So you want to elope on the cruise ship?"

Callie looked at Mark and said, "You just asked me to marry you in your office?"

Mark shrugged and said, "We said our 'I love yous' in the gallery and I thought everything we needed to say had already been said."

Callie rolled her eyes, there were times when the arrogant Mark Sloan still tried her patience even though he tried to change his arrogance for her sake and for those around him, "Mark, I know we didn't exactly have a normal relationship but a girl does want to get asked in a normal sorta way."

Mark picked her up and deposited her in his lap as he reached for her scrub bottoms and started pulling them off her legs and said, "I love you Callie, I love you more than I can say even in words. You support me, you help me and you embrace the mess that I am without question. I used to think fidelity was a horrible idea but I don't know how I could ever fathom cheating on you partly because I know you would kill me and partly because I don't from where I would get the energy."

Callie laughed as she was suddenly on top of Mark in his locked office straddling his legs as she reached for his scrub bottoms, he tried to still her hand but she batted his hand away as she pressed a kiss to his lips while reaching for him under his pants, "I love you Mark, I will always love you and I want to marry you preferably sooner rather than later."

Mark reached for her hands again and said, "Callie, we don't have any protection and we are in the middle of my office and…."

Callie put a finger on his lips as she took him into her hands and said, "Do you want to make a baby with me Sloan or not?"

Mark groaned as his head fell back against his couch and said, "I want more than a baby with you, I want a family with you and I want to grow old with you."

Callie smiled as she joined the bodies together as they started to move together in sync. Mark eyes rolled back in his head as he felt the motion starting to sweep over his body, he reached for the bottom of her scrub top and took it up and off and was working on her bra and within seconds she was naked on top of him and he was in heaven. He knew that there was nowhere else that he could ever be that would feel this good.

Callie leaned in and brushed a kiss over his lips and said, "So what do you say Sloan? Do you want to make a baby?"

Mark sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist trying to control the rhythm even while Callie started tightening around him, "Callie, I don't have much of a choice do I?"

Callie stopped her rocking as she pulled out of him and said, "I could stop if you want."

Mark eyes flew open in shock as he reached for her body and joined them once again and said, "Don't ever do that to me again."

Callie thrust down as she tightened her inner muscles around him and watched as his face tightened in ecstasy, "Callie, sweetheart……" His voice trailed off as his orgasm rocked his body and then she tightened down on him once more as her climax ripped threw her off and her orgasm almost sent her sprawling off of the couch.

As their body temperature cooled, Mark laid them out on his couch and reached for the blanket that he kept in his office when they ended up working late together. He cradled her in his arms as his heart started returning to a normal rhythm.

Callie smiled from her position in his arms and said, "So we made a baby in your office."

Mark leaned down and pressed a kiss to her sweat, soaked hair and then her neck and said, "What will we tell our kids? That one day their parents created them in the middle of Daddy's office before a surgery?"

Callie reached for his hand as she moved them down to her belly and said, "We will tell our children that they were created in love. We can massage reality and tell them it was on a cruise ship after we eloped but they will always know that they were created in love, because I love you Mark."

Mark squeezed her to him and said, "I love you too Callie and not because you fought for me in front of Derek and not because you told me that you loved me first because I've loved you since that first night in the bar when you broke down my defenses and found the real me that I had been hiding, but because I never thought happiness like this could exist until I met you. I didn't know you could bare your soul to another person and not be completely afraid about how vulnerable you are. I need you in my life."

Callie leaned back as she pressed a kiss to his lips and said, "I love you too, but its time for you go to save another little child's life and make everyone love him. Go save Matthew's life."

Mark exhaled in agreement as he squeezed the woman in his arms to his side once more grateful that she existed and that she loved him before pulling on his scrubs and going to handle the surgery.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mark stood outside the surgery bay and held himself back after he had scrubbed in. There was something preventing him from going in and completing the surgery on this kid, Matthew Stevens made it had something to do with the fact that his hands were still shaking. He stared in the room as the anesthesiologist and the attending nurses were waiting on him for the start of the surgery. He stepped back and looked at the people who were waiting on him to perform a miracle and found that he was frozen in his spot.

The door opened and he didn't react to the entrance of anyone or the closing of the door until he smelled her. She wore the scent of him and it was the most intoxicating and calming scent at the same time and one he would never get tired of inhaling. He looked over at her as she was dressed in scrubs and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Callie shrugged as she washed her hands and then stepped in front of him while waiting for Mark to tie the strings of her surgical mask and said, "Someone told me that my fiancée might need a friendly face in there and I decided to come and be here for support, emotional or otherwise."

Mark's hands dropped to her shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and laid his chin on her shoulder, "Thank you for loving me," He pressed a kiss to her scrub top and lifted his head to say, "Thank you for supporting me," He squeezed his arms around her again and said, "Thank you for marrying me."

Callie smiled as his arms fell from her waist as he walked into the surgical room, every inch the cocky Mark Sloan but as he looked back at her and his eyes crinkled with laughter and love she knew that they would never really know the Mark Sloan, the man behind the face that he put on to the world and as she walked into the OR she was glad. She was glad that only she was privy to Mark's real personality because she had a feeling that if women really knew what he was like that he would give Derek a run for his money for the name 'Mc Dreamy.'

Mark smiled at the people who were wondering why she was in the room; he looked at all of their questioning glances and simply stated, "I've asked my wife, Dr. Callie Torres-Sloan to assist me on this surgery."

Callie felt a tear threatening to fall but she held herself back as she walked by Miranda's side as she tapped her on the shoulder and said, "He's worthy, you've made him into someone worthy of love, be proud of that. I'm happy for both of you; let's make this little boy's life easier."

And with that simple statement, Mark Sloan in accompany with his fiancée and her good friend went on to change the life of one Matthew Stevens for the better.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Two Years Later

Mark groaned at the sound of his youngest son, rolling out of his bed and started to run straight for the bedroom of his parents. He looked over his shoulder to see his wife, who was now six months pregnant with their second child still sleeping soundly and knew that he couldn't let his rambunctious young son disturb her sleep as well.

He slipped out of bed as his son, of exactly two years of age came rushing into the room ready to jump on the bed and awaken his parents from their gentle slumber. He caught him up in his arms as he pressed a finger to his lips indicating quiet as he closed the door behind him and put his son, Jason Matthew Sloan down on the ground and held out his hand. Jason took it happily and said, "Mommy sleeping?"

Mark nodded as he looked back to their bedroom door to where his wife was still sleeping and was grateful that his wife was a heavy sleeper. There were still times that he couldn't believe that he had been married for two years to the same woman and he was happy, he was fulfilled and he was a father. Something he at one time, thought he would never be worthy of was something that Callie praised him for daily.

_Flashback _

_"You are a great father, Jason adores and when Samantha gets here she's going to adore you too." Callie wrapped her arms around her husband in happiness. They had just found out that the baby she was carrying was going to be a girl. She had told her husband only to have him confront her with a mini-meltdown at the thought. _

_Mark pulled back as he looked in her eyes, "You want to name her Samantha? Are you sure Callie?" _

_  
Callie squeezed her arms around his waist and said, "I'm sure, Samantha and Jason Matthew were important people in your life which makes them important people in my life. I know that you are terrified that you won't be a wonderful father but Jason idolizes you and you have never let him down not once. You are going to be a wonderful father to your daughter to, I already know just like you are a wonderful husband to me." _

_Mark smiled at the assured tone in her voice before he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and then let his hand travel down to where their second child, their daughter lay and said, "How did I get to be so lucky?" _

_  
Callie wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling his face down to hers and said, "It helps that you're McSteamy." _

_End of Flashback _

Jason ran into the kitchen and waited patiently for Mark to arrive at a slower pace and said, "Okay guy, what do you want for breakfast?"

Jason jumped up and down as was his morning ritual as his father went through this same question and answer routine every morning since he had been able to form words and said, "Cereal."

Mark walked over to the cabinets and pulled out his son's favorite and Callie's compromise, Frosted flakes. Their son had argued them both down in the cereal aisle that he wanted his favorite cereal, only problem was that it was chocked full of sugar and had no nutritional value. Mark had wanted to waver and allow his son the whim of choosing his own cereal but Callie had simply shook her head and said, that he was too soft and that she would end up being the disciplinarian parent which in other terms meant he was a wuss.

Well, fine he was a wuss then because whatever his son wanted he couldn't deny him with his jet black hair, easy smile and infectious laugh he was the apple of his eye and the envy of many including some of his workmates. Preston had obviously been pressing Christina for children but she was digging her heels in that she wanted to finish her internship before she became a mother.

He picked Jason up and settled him on his waist as he reached for the box of cereal before walking to the refrigerator and pulling out the milk. Jason was chatting happily about what he wanted to do today and who he was planning on seeing and what he wanted to do. "Daddy, I want to go to the park again. Mommy and Samantha need to ride on the swings; it's good for the baby."

Callie entered the kitchen at that moment with a grin after hearing the justification that her son was offering his father as a reason that they all should trek out into the park on this windy, Seattle day. She flashed them both a smile that was reserved for her two men as she walked forward and pressed a kiss to both of their lips before saying, "So you were saying what about the park Jason?"

Jason slid off his chair and ran over to where his mother was standing with her hand massaging her lower back that was aching daily as she became heavier with pregnancy. He reached for his mother but Mark was quicker and while shaking his head he pulled his son back and looked at his wife while saying, "No Jason, Mom can't pick you up like she used to because she has your sister Samantha in her tummy."

Jason pouted but once Callie gave him a hug he was better. Mark worked alongside Callie efficiently as he got Jason his breakfast and Callie started on the coffee and their breakfast which she refused to allow him to assist with, and since she missed having coffee because of the pregnancy and the doctor told her to lay off the caffeine she was working out her frustration by taking over the cooking for both of them which had fortunately worked out for the better seeing as how the only thing he knew how to make was a phone call for room service or pizza. Mark sat down after he put a bib on Jason as Callie set his breakfast down in front of him before sliding into her own seat and eating.

Jason was finished first as was usually the custom as he ran off to turn on television, with Mark following but he stopped as he felt Callie watching them both. Callie looked up as Mark caught her eye and she spoke, "I love you."

Mark looked at her in confusion, they were always saying their I love you's at different times during the day but it still never ceased to amaze him that the wonderful woman sitting in front of him had no problem as he let the words fall easily from her lips. He smiled as she leaned over and pressed a hard kiss to her lips and said, "I love you too Dr. Callie Torres Sloan."

Callie sighed as she cupped his chin in her hand and said, "Mark I never thought that losing George would win me the family that I have with you and Jason. I feel blessed that I walked into the bar at Jake's. I shudder to think where I would be without you two."

Mark smiled as he said, "And I hate to imagine where I would be. Probably pissing everyone off and losing respect for myself day by day. You saved me, you kept me honest and you completed all of the parts that I was lacking. We are together and I couldn't be happier."

Callie smiled as she turned her attention back to her breakfast as Mark ran after his son who was now in the living room requesting assistance with the television.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Samantha Melissa Sloan made her debut on time and added to the joy of the already happy family. Mark had never been more frightened when the doctor came out and told him that there was a possibility that he could lose both Samantha and Callie if the emergency c-section that they had to perform didn't go as planned. He had never been more terrified and when the doctor came out and said that both pulled through surgery with no complications he had gone into his office and wept because he knew that he would be forever grateful to God for allowing him the chance to be with the family that completed him and that he could've lost in a split instance.

Mark entered the room holding Jason's hand in one hand and in the other a dozen roses for the new girls in his life. Callie was still asleep but Miranda came in shortly and said, "Samantha is awake and is demanding to see her family. She gets that from you, I know."

Mark smiled at her indulgingly not even allowing Miranda's barbs to mess with the happiness that was in his heart now as the crib carrying his newborn daughter was rolled into the room and said, "Thank you Miranda for everything. It meant a lot to both me and Callie that you were in there during her surgery."

Miranda put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Thank you for growing up and deciding to be someone deserving of every blessing that you are given. You love Callie and the family that you created together, anyone who can look into your eyes can see that, and I'm just glad that you seem to be on the right path and the family that you created more than your own life."

Jason yawned, tired of hearing the big people talk as he tugged on his father's leg and said, "Daddy, pick me up I want to see Sam."

Mark picked his son up as he kissed Miranda goodbye on the cheek and after she left the room he turned to his son in confusion and said, "I told you her name is Samantha. Samantha, don't you like that name for your little sister?"

Jason shrugged as he peered over his father's shoulder into the crib by his mother's bed and said, "I told all the kids at daycare that I was getting a little brother so if I tell them her name is Samantha then they'll know I lied, if I say Sam then I got my little brother."

Mark opened his mouth to respond when Callie spoke up from the bed with humor lacing her tone, "Fine Jason that's okay." Callie looked at her husband's eyes over her son's head and saw the fear that still resided in them and instantly felt responsible even though she knew she had no control over what happened.

Mark sighed a breath of relief as he put his son down quickly and walked over to his wife's side and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Don't scare me like that ever again, I thought I was going to lose you and Samantha there for a second. When Miranda told me that you would have to have a c-section…"

Callie smiled as she looked into his eyes, "We aren't going anywhere Mark I told you that. You are stuck with me for the long run."

Mark kissed her on the lips and said, "I hope so because there isn't anyone else that I'd rather be with. You and my family are my world, don't forget that."

Callie kissed him back before she started fidgeting to see the newest addition to her family. As Samantha was placed in her arms she met Mark's eyes and whispered I love you to him.

Mark smiled as Jason tugged on his pants leg begging to be picked up. Mark sat on the edge of the bed with Jason in his arms as Callie surveyed Samantha and the family was together again and they were happy. They were complete together and that was enough for them for the rest of their days.

End

* * *

Thoughts, please. This was my first GA's fic without Addison/Derek or Alex and I'm kinda nervous about how it turned out so let  
me know your thoughts pretty please:) 


End file.
